A Lubbock judge has issued an arrest warrant for a former Texas Tech student who failed to report to prison Tuesday to begin a sentence for intoxicated manslaughter.

Jeena Elizabeth Roberts pleaded guilty Nov. 26 to one count each of intoxicated manslaughter and intoxicated assault from an October 2010 rear-end wreck near Fourth Street and Avenue L.

District Judge Jim Bob Darnell sentenced Roberts, now 23, to 15 years in prison for killing Linda Smaltz and eight years for causing the injuries to Karen Wolf. Both women were passengers in the car that Roberts struck from behind.

Darnell ordered the sentences to run concurrently and gave Roberts until Jan. 7 to report to prison.

According to court records, Lubbock attorney Daniel Hurley filed a motion for new trial on Roberts’ behalf Dec. 27 — the deadline for filing such a motion.

Hurley’s motion contends the verdict wasn’t supported by the evidence.

Court records indicate Darnell has taken no action on the motion.

Hurley is the third attorney to represent Roberts, a petroleum engineering student from Woodlands, in the case.

She was initially represented by Chuck Lanehart, who was allowed to withdraw from the case because Roberts “failed to comply with the terms of the contractual agreement with her attorney,” Lanehart said in a court filing.

Houston criminal defense lawyer Dan Cogdell took on the case and represented her at her guilty plea hearing.

According to police reports, Roberts had been on a university-sponsored field trip to New Mexico that day and admitted to having several beers on the bus chartered for the field trip. Police reports also noted her blood-alcohol level was 0.25 percent, more than three times the legal limit in Texas.

Police investigation of the accident showed Roberts’ Chrysler was traveling at 80 mph when it struck the rear of the Ford SUV in which Smaltz and Wolf were passengers. That portion of Fourth Street had a posted speed limit of 35 mph when the wreck occurred.

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Of course you could have seen this happening. If you let people ( especially people who are convicted of killing someone) just let themselves turn themselves in, do they actually think that's going to happen. A friend of mine told me that he gets his hair cut the same place that girl did. Apparently she told the hair dresser that she was never going to jail because her daddy can get her out of the country if needed to. Well here you go, have fun hunting.

would be the attorney eventually. He was able to get Callie Long only 90 days in jail for simple DWI (and that didn't happen until 6 years after the accident that eventually took the life of my friend, Brett Walrath). She may never see prison.

You mean to tell me she was free and had to get to prison voluntarily ??? If it had been a minority they would have been taken straight to prison to serve their sentence. Pretty little white girl gets special privileges. I don't ever remember reading of a black or hispanic ever being given the opportunity to turn themselves in voluntarily to serve their prison sentence. Will this double standard never end !!!!!

again, it is not her fault, it is the alcohol or the bar's, but not hers. People do not take responsiblity, and the lawyers help them.
Sorry, I'm being facecious here. She should have stayed in jail, and now I hope they throw the book at her.

If and when they find her they will make her serve the full 15 years if she doesn't turn herself in. She would only end up serving a fraction of that time and be released on parol if she just shows up. On top of that she may pick up another charge for not reporting.

An adult, drunk by legal definition, driving over twice the speed limit, kills one person, seriously wounds another, there are no excuses applicable. She needs to do some serious time, if she can get out early, it's the system. As someone here stated, she's now done serious damage to her case; additional time should be forthcoming.

for non-compliance should have been a red flag. By not showing up she is showing complete disdain to the victims and unwillingness to pay a debt to society. Add some time, consider it interest tacked on to the debt she's now in arrears on.

Whoever made the comment, "some
Republican judge ruined her life" is
out of touch to the point of being
a sociopath. You can't drink and
drive in this day and age, particularly
when you kill someone, and expect not to
go to prison. Her own callous disregard
for human life is the sole reason for her
predicament. Her failure to report only
reinforces her sociopathic personality
because she clearly doesn't believe
she is responsible for taking a human
life.

Not reporting for incarceration just shows
she's not only callous, but stupid as well.
As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow,
she will be caught. In the meantime,
she will lead a miserable double life
looking over her shoulder.

I doubt that Jeena is a sociopath but, some responsibility should have been placed on TTU and the Society of Petroleum Engineering organization including Marshall, who was suppose to be caring for the young students. I hope everyone who helped with providing alcohol to this young lady take responsibility and step down from working near young students, teaching, or trying to pretend that they care. Jeena, unfortunately was too young to know what hit her. Adults, older adults should have watched out for her that day and they did not. Shame on the TTU professor who still teaches and believes in his mind he is innocent. Who is really the sociopath in this case?